Ciryl Gane opens up on the psychological impact of losing to Jon Jones and possibly not getting to avenge the defeat
Ciryl Gane will make his return to the octagon for the first time since facing Jon Jones for the heavyweight title at UFC 285. Speaking at the media day for UFC Fight Night 226, 'Bon Gamin' opened up on the experiences he learned from the loss, as well as his feelings on the fact that he is unlikely to get the opportunity to seek revenge.
The No.2-ranked heavyweight stated:
"Jon Jones is a really great fighter and he did really well... Even if the fight was just 3 minutes, this is good. This had a lot of experience for my career. A lot. So yeah, I'm gonna use everything I can to be a better for the future, for my next also... We wanted to fix it very quickly... I gave [myself] no choice."
Gane, who faced criticism for not training outside of camp, shared that he was back to training within a week of the loss. He was asked about not being able to avenge his losses to both Jones and Francis Ngannou, as the former has teased retirement while the latter has left the promotion, responding:
"C'est la vie. I'm not this type of guy - I don't have any nightmares. No, that's okay. I won't have my revenge, but that's okay. I'm gonna have my revenge against another guy. I just want to prove to myself [that] I can be a better version of myself, step by step."
Check out Ciryl Gane's comments on his loss to Jon Jones below:
Jones needed just over two minutes to submit Gane, leading to questions about his work ethic. 'Bon Gamin' will return to the octagon against Sergey Spivak in the main event of UFC Fight Night 226. Meanwhile, 'Bones' will defend the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295. He has hinted that it could be the last fight of his career.
Jon Jones discusses facing Ciryl Gane instead of Francis Ngannou
Jon Jones was expected to face Francis Ngannou in his return from a three-year hiatus, which also marked his heavyweight debut. Instead, the long-time light heavyweight champion faced Ciryl Gane after 'The Predator' left the UFC. 'Bones' discussed the change of opponent in his appearance on the OverDogs Podcast, stating:
"The narrative switched somehow and everyone is saying that I waited three years and I came back exactly when Francis was gone. That's actually not true. When I got back, Francis was very much on the roster still and I could have been his last fight, but instead he opted out and Ciryl Gane took Francis' spot. I came back ready for Francis Ngannou, for sure. I'm not going to lie though, knowing that I was fighting Ciryl Gane instead of Francis was kind of nice."
Check out Jon Jones' comments on Francis Ngannou below (starting at the 22:35 mark):
While Jones was able to capture the heavyweight title at UFC 285 and will defend it at UFC 295 later this year, he has shared that he does not plan to fight for much longer. As things stand, it appears that the highly-anticipated bout between himself and Ngannou will never come to fruition.